Hidden Bruises
by Caramel Revenge
Summary: When Neji comes late to practice with a black eye,Tenten is determined to find out how he got it. Rated k-plus for minor violence and reference to violence. Contains child abuse and some Nejiten. Pre-timeskip. Guaranteed to be better than my first fic.
1. Chapter 1

It was an early fall morning and the trees were turning to beautiful shades of red, gold, and brown

It was an early fall morning and the trees were turning to beautiful shades of red, gold, and brown.

Dew was still on many of the plants in the area and the sun shone just enough to make it glimmer but still keep the sleepy atmosphere.

Tenten, however, noticed none of this.

Her mind was on her tardy teammate.

'Where could he be?' she wondered, "Neji's never late to practice.'

She was standing in a tree scanning the path to their training ground. Not a sign of life had she spotted on it.

She got an annoyed look on her face. 'He always says tardiness is one of the worst qualities a person can have. He always tells me that when I'm late. And yet he decides it's just fine for him to be late. What a hypocrite!'

The annoyment left her face as a thought struck her. 'Wait, what if he's in trouble?' She bit her lip.

Just then a white blob made its way up the path.

Tenten was momentarily relieved, but quickly switched into annoyed mode since there was nothing to be worried about.

"Neji! What took you so long? Isn't tardiness one f the worst qualities a person can… Hey wait, is that a black eye? What happened?!"

Tenten looked in shock at Neji's shiner.

Neji scowled at her.

"It is none of your concern." He said stiffly.

Tenten blinked. "Of course it's my concern! What were you doing? Did you walk into a door?"

Neji just continued with his glare for a couple more minutes. Then finally he spoke. "We should be training, not wasting time with childish antics, Tenten."

Tenten frowned but turned and went to the training ground. Something here was just not adding up. She would get to the bottom of this.

"Tenten? Aren't you ready?"

Tenten smiled at her teammate and drew some scrolls from her pouch. Yes, she was going to figure out what was up with her teammate. Even if he didn't want her to.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi

Hi! I just realized I always forget the disclaimer. So here it is!

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it. Masashi Kishimoto does.

Tenten watched as her teammate departed. He had seemed slow today.

That was because something was going on, and Tenten was going to find out just what was going on.

Finally Neji was out of sight.

Tenten sprang into action. 'Okay, so first I'm going to go see if Lee has noticed anything unusual about Neji lately. He might've noticed things I missed.'

Off she went to Lee' and Gai's usual training ground.

As she got there she saw Lee and Gai were doing pushups.

"304…305…306…"

And quite a few of them apparently. Tenten was suddenly glad she didn't normally train with them.

She walked over and poked Lee. "Hey, Lee!"

"315- Tenten! What are you doing here? And why are you poking me?"

Tenten sighed. " Lee, can you stop doing pushups a minute? I need to talk to you about something."

Lee blinked. Stop his training? This must be something serious!

He stopped mid-pushup and stood up.

"What is it, Tenten? Is someone in grave danger? Did your mother die?"

"Uh, no, my mother is just fine. It's Neji I'm worried about."

Lee's eyes widened. What could possibly be wrong with his eternal rival?

"You see," Tenten continued, "Neji was late to training today and—"

Lee cut her off. "Yes! It must be something serious if he was late! What do you think is wrong with him? Do you think he has- Ow!"

Tenten rubbed her knuckles. Lee had a hard head. "Will you be quiet for a minute and let me finish?"

Lee nodded, rubbing his head.

"Okay then. As I was saying," Tenten said, "He showed up late to training with a black eye. And when I asked him about it he said it was none of my concern. Have you noticed anything strange involving Neji lately?"

Lee thought for a moment, and then shrugged. " No, not really. I'm not around him as much as you are, remember? He seemed just as unyouthful as usual last time I saw him."

"What are you doing here, Tenten? And why have you distracted Lee from his training?"

Both genin jumped. Neither of them had heard Gai coming.

Tenten sweatdropped. "Sorry, I only needed to ask Lee something. I've got to go now! Bye Lee! Bye Gai-sensei!"

Tenten ran off, and didn't stop until she was far away. She breathed a sigh of relief. That had been close. She could've gotten roped into training with Gai and Lee if she'd stuck around.

Plus, she wasn't sure if she should tell Gai about this. What if he made a big deal out of it and it turned out to be nothing? That would be so embarrassing. And Neji would probably kill her.

She decided she should try and keep her investigation discreet. Speaking of investigation, asking Lee didn't really help that much. Who could talk to now?

A light bulb shone above Tenten's head. Hinata! Of course, why didn't she think of asking Neji's cousin sooner? Surely she would know something about it.

When Tenten found her, Hinata was training with her team. So Tenten went up and tapped on her shoulder.

"Hey, Hinata?"

"Oh! Hi Tenten. What are you doing here?" Hinata turned away from the post she was practicing her Jyuken on.

Tenten gave her a friendly smile. "I wanted to ask you about Neji. But not here."

Hinata looked slightly confused… and a little nervous. "W-well, I'm t-training, r-right n-now, I-I'm not s-sure i-if my t-teammates w-would like th-that…"

Tenten looked serious now. "This is really important, Hinata. I think," She said, hesitating to sink her voice to a whisper, "that someone might be beating your cousin up."

Hinata started playing with her fingers. "Oh, y-you m-must be referring to h-his black eye. H-he sleepwalks s-sometimes, a-and he walked i-into a d-door last n-night."

Tenten blinked. Neji, sleepwalk? He'd never done that on missions. Besides, why would he be so uptight about something like that?

"Are you sure?" She asked skeptically.

Hinata nodded, staring at the ground.

If Tenten had been unsure that something was fishy before, she was certain now. She sensed she wasn't going to get any answers out of Hinata.

Tenten faked a smile. "Oh, well okay then," she said, and then faked a giggle. "I never would've pictured Neji as a sleepwalker though. That's kind've funny! See you later Hinata!"

Hinata smiled a little. " Bye Tenten, it was nice to see you!" she said with relief.

Tenten moved on, and the fake smile left her face. She had a new plan now. She was going to have to spy on Neji. At his house with all the relatives with Byakugan. 'That was going to be a pice of cake…" she thought sarcastically as she went to collect spygear.

Well, that's the second chapter. Let me know if the dialogue is really choppy or something, because dialogue is not my cup of tea.


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, just…Wow

Wow, just…Wow! I can't believe I got more than one review! Thanks guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any Naruto characters, despite my delusional belief I will be able to buy it someday.

# # #

Tenten went over her spy gear.

Barrel with eye-hole…..check

Mirrors and thread….. check

Camouflaged clothing….. kind of check

Spyglass……check

Plenty of kunai, shuriken etc…..check

She honestly wasn't sure why she would need so many weapons, but it made her feel more secure and prepared.

She put everything in various pockets and packs and got ready to go.

She took a deep breath.

A mission like this would require stealth and cunning. Not to mention a lot of good luck.

Not exactly her strong points.

She shook her head. Now was not the time to be thinking negatively.

Now was the time to find out what was really going on at the Hyuuga compound.

With one final check of all her gear, she jumped out the window. Why the window? If she had went through the front door her mom would've wanted to know where she was going.

She went to the Hyuuga compound and found a good vantage point.

Now all there was left to do was wait.

She spotted several Hyuuga in the garden and in the training area.

They looked like white blobs twirling around as they practiced Jyuken.

Tenten took out her spyglass and peered closer at the white blobs. Nope, none of them were Neji. None of the ones in the garden were Neji either. This was going a lot slower than she had expected somehow.

Her ears pricked up at the sound of yelling. She quickly moved to where it was coming from and focused her spyglass.

Yes! There was Neji! And there was his uncle, yelling at him.

Tenten leaned closer to hear what he was saying.

"Why did you do it?! What is your problem?! Do you want another black eye?!"

Tenten gasped. It was Neji's uncle! He was the one who gave Neji the black eye!

"Do you like getting hurt?! DO YOU?!"

Neji quietly replied, "No.."

"Then why did you do it?! Are you stupid?!"

Neji didn't reply.

"Are you going to give me an answer?!"

"Fine! It's because tomorrow is Lee's birthday!"

Lee's birthday? What could that have to do with this? Neji didn't get a tattoo or anything weird, right?

"You're going to end up too hurt to go anywhere, you stupid child! What kind of a birthday present is that?!"

Neji glared at the ground.

"Daddy!" A whining voice called, "Hinata hid the Golden Crunchies!"

"N-no I didn't! You f-finished them o-off this morning," Hinata said from a different room.

"Nuh-uh! I saw you hide them!"

Hiashi sighed and rubbed his temples and turned to go solve the argument. As he left he informed Neji, "We will finish this discussion later."

'Whoa,' thought Tenten, 'Neji must've done something against the rules for Lee's birthday or something. But now I know who gave him that black eye! I'm going to go tell Lee!'

Tenten took off in the direction of Lee' and Gai 's usual training ground.

Hiashi would not get away with treating Neji so terribly. Tenten would make sure of it.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everybody

Hey everybody! Caramel here! Thanks for all the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the Naruto characters. I do however own a doll named after myself.

Tenten arrived at Lee' and Gai's training ground, panting.

Gai and Lee stopped their training for a minute to look over at her.

"Tenten! You are not training enough! You should not be panting from running from your training ground to ours!" Gai declared.

Tenten twitched. "I didn't run over from my training, I ran over from Neji's house!"

Lee raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing over there? I thought you were forbidden to come into the Hyuuga compound after you insulted that elder."

"Yeah, sure," Tenten said impatiently, "Lee, I need to show you something. It's really important!"

Lee nodded, and then turned to see if it was alright with Gai.

Gai gave him the nice guy pose and told he could go but he would have to do more training later.

Tenten and Lee took off, and as soon as they were out of Gai's hearing range, Tenten started talking.

"You know how I said something weird was going on with Neji?"

Lee nodded.

"Well, I went to spy on him—"

Lee gasped. "You were spying on our trusted teammate?! How could you, Tenten?"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Lee, Neji hasn't been telling us what's going on, so I had to spy. It's not a sin or anything. But anyway, I was spying and I saw Neji's uncle yelling at him and threatening to give him another black eye!"

"That's horrible!"

"I know! We have to do something! That's what we're doing right now! We're going to go and confront him!"

"Which one?"

"Which one what?"

"Which one are we confronting, Neji or his uncle?"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously his uncle, because he's the one who's beating up Neji. I mean, it's not like it would work to confront Neji and tell him to stop being abused! That would be a waste of time! No, we're going directly to the source!"

"That makes sense."

"That's why I'm the one in charge."

Tenten and Lee arrived at the gate to the Hyuuga compound. It appeared to be locked.

Lee banged on the gate and hollered, "Will someone please open the gate? We have an important matter to discuss with your head!"

The gate opened a crack.

"Yes?" asked a Hyuuga they had never met before.

"As I said before, we have an important matter to discuss with your head!" declared Lee.

The Hyuuga sighed. "Fine, come in. But take off your filthy shoes first."

The duo complied and followed the Hyuuga into the compound.

Lee had never been in there before, and the size of the compound seemed to awe him.

Tenten had been there before, so she was completely focused on the reason they had come here.

They reached a door and stopped.

"One moment," their Hyuuga guide said. He opened the door and stepped inside partway, announcing, "Honorable Hiashi, you have people here to see you."

After apparently getting some sort of signal from Hiashi, the Hyuuga informed them they could go in and stepped out of the way. Then he left.

Tenten and Lee went into the room cautiously.

"Yes?" Hiashi asked, "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Tenten swallowed. This was going to be nerve-wracking. But they had to save Neji.

'Here goes nothing,' she thought.

Yes, it is an evil cliffhanger. But I will be updating soon, I swear!


	5. Chapter 5

Caramel here, here's the 5th chapter

Caramel here, here's the 5th chapter! Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto or any of the Naruto characters.

Tenten's palms were sweaty. This guy was really intimidating close-up.

"Well?" Hiashi said, "I take it it must be something important considering you were forbidden to ever come in here again."

Tenten grinned sheepishly, then remembered that this was the man they had to confront.

"W-we're here to, um,--" Tenten stammered, seeming to lose some of her nerve under this man's critical gaze. Lee took over for her.

"We are here to protest your unacceptable treatment of Neji!!"

Hiashi raised his eyebrows. "And what unacceptable treatment are you talking about?"

Tenten regained her nerve. "I saw you! You were threatening Neji for…doing something or other! You're the one who's been beating him up!"

Hiashi took on a colder face. "I have no idea what you are talking about. You are forbidden to be in here and now so is your friend, so leave or I will have you escorted out."

"You make us leave and we'll tell the Hokage!" Tenten announced.

"You have no proof."

"Yes we do! I saw you and Neji has a black eye!"

"I'm sure Neji will be happy to tell the Hokage where he really got the black eye. And do you really think the Hokage is going to take your word over mine? I don't think so."

"If you're so smart, tell us how Neji got the black eye!"

"He was hit in the eye by another Branch family member while training."

"That's funny. Hinata said he was sleepwalking and walked into a door."

Hiashi grit his teeth and said to them in a low voice, "If you know what's good for you, and him, you'll stay out of our family business."

Tenten opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it again. Something here was a little off, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Hisoka! Harue!" Hiashi said loudly, "Come escort these two ruffians out of the compound. They never to be allowed in here again, understood?"

The two Hyuuga nodded, then turned to escort the pair out.

As they were shoved towards the door, Tenten twisted around said, "We are going to find out just what's going on here! You're going to get it when we get evidence!"

With a final shove, she and Lee were outside the compound, and the gate slammed behind them.

Tenten was seething. "He thinks he can just shove us out and never have to bother with us again. What a jerk! What a big, fat—"

Lee cut her off, with a more important subject in mind. "Tenten, how are we going to get evidence? And shouldn't we tell Gai-sensei about this?"

Tenten thought for a moment. She hadn't wanted to tell Gai in case he made a huge fuss and it turned out not to be true. But considering they had kind've made a big fuss already, she really didn't have a good reason for not telling him. She sighed.

"All right, all right. We'll tell Gai-sensei. Maybe he'll know what to do."

"Yes! Gai-sensei will be able to think of a wonderful, youthful plan!"

And so they set off towards Lee' and Gai's training ground.


	6. Chapter 6

Well, I have a twist for this chapter

Well, I have a twist for this chapter. Hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: Strangely enough, I still do not own Naruto or any of the Naruto characters, despite my offers to buy them.

"Gai-sensei!" Tenten and Lee shouted as they raced into the training area.

Gai looked up from doing sit-ups. "What is it, my youthful students?"

Tenten took a gasp of air and started with the whole story,

"Well you see Neji came to practice late yesterday and he had a black eye and wouldn't tell me about it so I knew something was up and so I went and asked Lee about it and he said he didn't notice anything unusual so I went and asked Hinata and she seemed nervous when I asked her about it and told me Neji sleepwalked into a door but when I spied on Hiashi and Neji I saw him threatening Neji so I went and got Lee and we went and confronted him just now and he just denied it and told us to stay out of his family's business and that we were forbidden to ever come into the Hyuuga compound again except I'm already forbidden so I guess it doesn't matter so much for me but we didn't know what to do so we came to tell you and ask you what to do since we don't have any evidence," she stopped to take a huge gasp of air, "So what should we do?"

Gai finished processing the information. Then he frowned.

"We can't allow the mistreatment of Neji to continue! You already gave Hiashi a chance and he refused it, so we will tell the Hokage!"

Lee grinned admiringly and shouted, "I told you Gai would know what to do, Tenten!"

"Let's go!!"

And Team Gai, minus Neji, sped towards the Hokage tower.

Tsunade had just finished dealing with an overenthusiastic and overly confident genin team that had demanded a 'B' rank mission. She sure set them straight.

Now she could sit back and relax for a couple of minutes before Shizune bothered her about paperwork again…..

Her relaxation was quickly disturbed by Gai, Lee, and Tenten coming into her office.

Tsunade straightened up in her chair.

"Yes?" She asked.

"This is an incredibly urgent matter!!" Lee informed her, "We fear our teammate is being abused by his own uncle!"

Tsunade wanted to bang her head against her desk. How many unusual and time-consuming matters were going to come in today?

"Do you have any proof?"

"Well," Tenten started, "I saw Hiashi yelling at Neji and threatening him, and he came late to practice yesterday with black eye."

"And today," continued Lee, "We went to see Hiashi and he gave a story that was completely different from the one Hinata gave us! And he was acting very suspiciously!"

Tsunade sighed. It sounded like they actually had a case. She turned to Gai. "So, what do you think of this?"

"I fear they are probably right, and Neji is in a bad situation." He said gravely.

Tsunade nodded. "Well, go tell Hiashi I would like to talk to him. Gai, you stay here and tell me what you know about it."

Tenten grinned sheepishly. "Actually, Lee and I have been forbidden to enter the Hyuuga compound ever again."

"But Tenten, that did not stop you the first time-oof!"

Lee was interrupted by Tenten's elbow.

Tsunade sighed impatiently.

"But I guess we can just go anyway!" said Tenten, not wanting to disappoint her idol.

She grabbed Lee and darted out of the room.

They ran to the Hyuuga compound.

Lee pounded on the gate.

A Hyuuga answered the gate. Tenten did not recognize him.

"What do you want?" he asked rudely.

"We are here to see Hiashi about a very important matter." Announced Lee.

"Yeah, the Hokage wants to see him." Tenten said.

The Hyuuga boy swung open the gate.

"Okay, he's in there, go tell him."

Tenten and Lee were a little surprised that the Hyuuga was so… careless, but they were not about to question their good fortune.

They walked and slid open the door to the room Hiashi was in. Hiashi looked up to see who was entering and choked on his tea.

"What," He started, his face getting red (partially from anger, partially from almost drowning), "are you doing back here? Didn't I forbid you to ever set foot in here again?!"

"And you," He pointed at Tenten, "this is the second time I've forbidden you! Are you two completely stupid or just ignorant of what the word 'forbidden' means?!"

Tenten cleared her throat and said importantly, "The Hokage wishes to speak to you in her office."

Hiashi was massaging his temple. He looked kind of tense.

"Is this about Neji again? How many times must I repeat it, I do not abuse my nephew!"

Tenten was about to say something, but was interrupted by Hanabi running in and grabbing Hiashi's sleeve.

"Daddy, Mommy's making a mess."

Tenten blinked. She didn't know Hinata had a mom.

Hiashi sighed.

"Will you excuse me for a minute?"

He didn't wait for them to reply and left the room.

"So, are you guys Neji's teammates?"

Tenten looked over to see Hanabi had shoved her face into Lee's and was now interrogating him.

"Um, yes. Could you get of my face?"

Hanabi turned and thrust her face into Tenten's.

"You're the ones who've been causing all the trouble, right?"

Tenten blinked.

"No, it's your dad who's been causing all the trouble."

"No he hasn't! My daddy's nice!" insisted the seven-year-old.

"If he's so nice, why does he beat up on your cousin?"

Just then Hinata entered the room. "Hanabi, Father says to go to your room and wait there until he says you can come out."

"But she said that Daddy's mean!"

Hinata looked uneasy. "Hanabi, Father said-"

"I'm not going!" Hanabi sat down and crossed her arms.

Tenten took advantage of the fact Hinata was here and couldn't tell a lie to save her life.

"So what's going on over there? And what Neji did get in trouble for the other day? He mentioned something about Lee's birthday."

Lee looked a little surprised. Tenten had neglected to mention that.

Hinata started stuttering.

"W-well, my mother is a l-little upset s-so my f-father is c-calming her d-down. Neji u-um, he, u-um, well…."

It was obvious Hinata couldn't think of a believable cover story.

Tenten grew impatient.

"C'mon, just spit it out!"

Hinata had apparently been holding something in for far too long, and she did spit it out.

"He spent some of his mission money on a present! That's all!"

Tenten was confused, to say the least.

"Was it something gross? Or against the rules?"

"He's supposed to hand it over to my mother because she's in charge of the finances," Hinata had apparently lost the stutter, "and she doesn't like it when he does things like that! She doesn't even like it when my father spends some of the money without consulting her!"

"So wait a minute," said Tenten, "you mean he doesn't get to keep his own money? Well, that explains why he rarely buys gifts for anybody."

Something else occurred to Tenten. Hinata's mom sounded…. Angry? No, that's not quite the word she was looking for…

Tenten darted over to the door Hiashi had left through and pressed her ear against it.

"What are you doing?!" Hinata protested.

Tenten could hear shouting on the other side. It was very muffled, but she could make it out. Lee also came over and started listening while Hinata protested and Hanabi followed a ladybug around.

"….be reasonable, Hitomi-" That was Hiashi.

"You cut that out! I'm being perfectly reasonable!" that must be Hinata's mom. Maybe angry was the word to describe her.

"Hitomi, you're not being reasonable! Don't you get it? We're going to be caught in the middle of a scandal! The Hokage has asked me to come to her office!"

"You can just explain how rebellious he is and that will be that."

"No it won't! His teammates won't be satisfied with that answer, and I'm not so sure the Hokage will find that acceptable!"

"Oh, are you saying we should just come clean? Would that be better?"

"No! I'm saying, you have to stop this madness or we'll be scorned by the other clans. We'll be a laughingstock!"

"What madness?! The parasite deserves it! We give him clothes, food, a place to sleep, and in return all he has to do is give us the money he earns and of course perform the duty of a branch family member. But what does the little ingrate do? He goes and spends our money on frivolous things! And he is rebellious! How can you say to just leave him alone?"

"I'm saying you're going to kill him and our reputation at this rate!"

"He is just fine. He's a ninja, he can take getting hurt."

"Look at him! Does he look just fine to you?!"

"Sure. He just needs some rest."

"You broke his arm! Rest isn't going to fix that!"

Tenten gasped, and so did Lee. They realized Hiashi had been telling the truth! It wasn't Hiashi who beat up Neji, it was Hinata's mom!

"Tell the Hokage whatever you want. I'm taking a nap!" Hinata's mom snapped, and she stormed off.

Told you there'd be a twist. This is the longest thing I've ever written. Cybercupcakes for everyone! Sorry about not updating for a while. The next chapter should turn out interestingly.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all the reviews

Thanks for all the reviews!! Sorry it took so long for the next chapter…..

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters.

Tenten and Lee jumped back from the door as Hiashi's footsteps were clearly heard coming closer. The door slid open.

Hiashi looked a little worn out and red in the face. He looked over and noticed Hinata's concerned, flustered face and Tenten and Lee's faces clearly betrayed they had heard every word.

"Um…." Tenten started, apparently trying to think of what to say in a situation like this.

She finally thought of something.

"The Hokage still wants to see you in her office?" she said weakly.

Hiashi looked like he wanted to snap at her, but he bit it back.

"I am quite aware of that," he said evenly.

Tenten shifted uncomfortably.

"So, uh, if you want to come with us," she said awkwardly," we can go now."

Surprisingly, when Lee and Tenten rose to leave, Hiashi went with them. They walked silently out of the room and up to the gate, where the careless Hyuuga youth still stood. He stiffened to attention at the sight of Hiashi and opened the gate for them.

They were walking silently down the relatively empty street when Hiashi spoke, startling them both.

"So, what are you going to do with your newfound information?"

It seemed like an obvious question to both Lee and Tenten.

"We're going to tell the Hokage."

"Exactly."

Hiashi shook his head in a manner that suggested he thought they were simpletons.

"You do realize the Hokage can't actually get Neji away from Hitomi, don't you? You're only going to jeopardize his position further."

Tenten narrowed her eyes while Lee looked at Hiashi in disbelief.

"You're lying." Tenten announced.

Hiashi only chuckled. There was no humor in the action, however.

"I guess you'll find that out when he's dead. Neji can legally be killed by a Main family member if he has murderous intent and acts upon it. No evidence is generally needed."

"Tsunade would never allow it! You'll see!" Tenten shouted, unwilling to even entertain the idea they might be harming Neji further.

"You have no way of knowing that."

"You would do anything to protect your precious reputation! Of course you'd lie about something like this!"

Hiashi said nothing, seeing as they were within ten feet of the Hokage tower. As they ascended the stairs, none of them said anything.

When they came into the office, the air was thick with tension.

Tsunade started.

"Hyuuga Hiashi, I've been told you beat up your nephew. Is this true?"

"Of course not, honorable Hokage." Hiashi said this in a tone that suggested he had no idea where they would get a crazy idea like that.

"He's telling the truth!" blurted Lee, "It's not him! It's Hinata's mom!"

Well, that sort of broke the suspense.

Hiashi frowned while Gai and Tsunade looked surprised.

"Of course she doesn't! Hitomi wouldn't harm a fly! They just want someone to blame!"

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow.

"And why do they need someone to blame? You're not suggesting they beat him up?"

Hiashi sputtered.

"Well, they, uh, want to cover up their error!"

Gai looked indignant.

"My youthful students do not lie! You are trying to cover up your own error!"

Tsunade looked thoughtful.

"I have a simple solution. Why don't we bring Neji here and ask him what's going on?"

"That would, uh, unnecessarily humiliate him!"

Tsunade ignored him.

"Tenten, Lee, go get Neji."

Well, next chapter is the last! Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers!


	8. Chapter 8

Bonjour everybody! Sorry about not writing for so long, it's just the ending has to be perfect. It probably won't be, but hey, what really is perfect anyway? I've been brainstorming for some time. Oh yeah, and school started, so I got bored and couldn't focus.

I don't own Naruto, any Naruto characters, or Harry Potter.

Tenten and Lee came upon the same careless boy at the gate. He let them right in, wondering why so many people were hurrying in and out of the gate today.

They rushed into the room where they'd last seen Hinata, hoping she could tell them where to find Neji in the labyrinth that was the Hyuuga compound.

No one was there.

They sped through the door they'd heard Hiashi argue with Hitomi behind. They ran into a girl with an elaborate loopy hairstyle. It honestly looked funny, but now was not the time to laugh.

"What are you doing in here? Are you thieves?"

She demanded, looking down her nose at them as if they were common filth.

"We're here for Neji! Tell us where he is!"

Tenten shouted indignantly. The girl raised her eyebrows condescendingly.

"You have a lot of nerve to speak to me like that. You're just commoners."

Tenten twitched. She was starting to understand what Neji meant when he said Hinata was not like most of the Main family members.

"As for Neji," continued the Hyuuga girl, with the same condescending air, "I don't see why he would want to speak with you."

"We're his teammates, you pompous ditz!"

It was clear Tenten was having some difficulty controlling herself. Lee spoke up a little more calmly, though it was obvious he was aggravated too.

"We're looking for him so he can see the Hokage. This is a grave matter that could seriously affect him and possibly the rest of your clan. Please tell us where he is."

Lee's words must have had some effect, because some of the condescension left her tone and face.

"He doesn't want to see anyone right now. He's recovering from a sudden illness."

Tenten rolled her eyes in frustration.

"You mean a sudden injury. We know what's going on, and we need to get him to the Hokage's office now!"

The Hyuuga girl sighed.

"Fine. But this is on your heads, not mine."

She led them down a hallway that was decorated with old fashioned portraits. Tenten recognized one of them as Hiashi.

They stopped in front of a plain door. Their guide abruptly turned and vanished as soon as they had reached a complete stop.

Tenten didn't bother to knock before she flung the door open.

There was Neji, apparently sleeping on his bed. He had bruises around his face and his arm was in a splint.

"Nnng?"

His eyes opened to look at them questioningly.

Tenten leaned down to help him up.

"C'mon, Neji, you've got to get up. We're taking you to the Hokage's office so you can tell her what's really going on."

Neji jerked back, now quite awake.

"I can't do that!"

He put his hands up as if to block Tenten from trying to make him get up.

"Yes, you can. And you will. Even if we have to carry you."

Tenten was now trying to help Neji out of bed by his good arm. He refused and pulled away.

"I can't! You don't know the kind of trouble I'll get in!"

"We do, that's why we're doing this. You're never going to have to worry about her again, the Hokage will make sure of it! Now get out of bed!"

"No! Wait- Lee! What are you doing?!"

Lee hoisted Neji out of bed, Neji protesting all the way.

A startled gasp came from the doorway. Tenten and Lee whipped around, to find themselves face to face with…….

HINATA!!

They breathed a sigh of relief. They were afraid she had been someone else.

"W-what are you d-doing?"

She asked, her eyes wide with bewilderment.

Tenten smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Hinata. We're just helping Neji. He has to go see the Hokage."

"They are not helping me! Tell them to put me down!"

Hinata looked at Neji, then at Lee, and then at Tenten, confusion and indecision evident in her face.

"It's for his own good. Hinata, we need to get out of here before your mom shows up. Which way is the way out?"

Hinata, after seeming to ponder it, pointed down the hall.

"Take this hall down about seven doors, then turn right and keep going for three doors. After that you'll find yourself in the main hall, and you need to turn left. That will take you to the gate. Hiroshi's still at the gate so you'll have no problem getting out. Now go! My mom could be here any minute!"

With Neji protesting at Hinata's betrayal, they ran down the hall.

Hinata's directions proved to be accurate, as they made it to the gate where that careless boy was still standing. He raised his eyebrows at their dragging Neji along, but he opened the gate anyway. It's not like Neji was his favorite person.

Finally they were out of the compound!

They pulled Neji down the street towards the Hokage tower, ignoring his pleas to just forget about it and let him go home.

He quieted down when they reached a more crowded area, apparently not wanting the general public to know of his predicament.

He did however shoot death glares at Tenten and Lee.

As they jogged up the stairs, he continued to glare. Tenten sighed with impatience.

"This really is for your own good, Neji. Even if you don't like it."

"Yeah!" Lee chimed in, "It's like eating spinach even though it tastes bad!"

Neji scowled.

"If you really cared about me, you wouldn't do this to me."

There was no time to come up with a reply to that, as they had reached the Hokage's door.

Lee reached out and turned the doorknob, Neji shooting daggers at him as he did so.

As they entered the room, Neji turned his face towards the floor, avoiding Hiashi', Tsunade' and Gai's gazes.

"Neji, Tenten and Lee have said that your aunt Hyuuga Hitomi beats you up for minor offenses. Is this true?"

Neji frowned at the floor.

"No."

"What?! Neji, we were there! We overheard Hiashi and Hitomi arguing, and he said she was going to cause a scandal because she was beating you up! How can you say 'no'? You're standing right there with a broken arm for crying out loud!"

This outburst came from Tenten, shocked that Neji would outright lie to the Hokage.

"I broke my arm training."

It came out as more of a mumble than a defense. Neji continued to frown at the ground. Hiashi was also frowning, but directly at Neji, not the ground.

"I told you he wouldn't handle it well. You're harassing him for nothing. It's quite clear-"

"Will you ever be quiet?!"

Tsunade was apparently not in a good mood. She pointed at Neji.

"And you! Look me in the face! Unless you have something to hide…."

Neji's head snapped up to look her in the face.

"I don't have anything to hide."

Lee tried to be helpful at this point.

"Don't be afraid, Neji! The Hokage can help you!"

The look on Neji's face said something along the lines of 'Yeah, right.'

"Help him with what?"

A white eyed woman stood in the doorway, a strange look in her eye.

Neji looked like a deer caught in the headlights, which made Tenten realize, with dawning horror, this must be……

"Hitomi! What are you doing here?!"

Hiashi exclaimed, looking like he wanted to get her out of sight as quickly as possible.

The woman casually walked into the room, brushing against Neji as she went up to talk with the Hokage.

"I heard there's been a misunderstanding involving Neji and myself?"

"It's not a misunderstanding….." Tenten growled under her breath.

"Neji's teammates say you beat him up. Is that true?"

Hitomi carelessly flicked her hair back.

"Yep."

Hiashi looked like he wanted to shoot her before she could say anything else.

Tsunade raised her eyebrow.

"So you admit to it?"

"Oh yes," Hitomi said, in a honey drenched tone, "You see, we've been having some behavior issues with Neji lately. He is very rebellious, and that's one of the worst attributes a child can have, after all. Breaking his arm was an accident completely uninvolved with his punishment. We are not doing anything wrong. It is a guardian's right to punish, correct?"

"It's not a guardian's right to abuse!" Tenten blurted out, "We heard you! We heard everything! You beat him up because he bought Lee a birthday present!"

Hitomi looked angry for a second, but then chuckled.

"That is the funniest thing I have ever heard. Children these days. They read too many storybooks if you ask me. Why would I beat him up for buying a birthday present, little girl?"

"Because you want his money!"

Lee spoke up then, hoping to make his teammate's statement make more sense.

"You want to keep his money because you want to have complete control over the finances and you think he owes you!"

Tenten was mildly amazed Lee had kept a clear head when she hadn't.

"Yeah, and when he spent money without telling you, you beat him up!"

Hitomi just shook her head.

"Why would I do anything as ridiculous as that? Hiashi's the head, not me. I'm not in charge of the finances. There is absolutely no reason I would beat him up for using his own hard-earned money to buy a birthday present."

The look on her face then hardened a little.

"Even if I did, it wouldn't matter. He is a branch family member. I am a main family member. I can do anything I want with him."

Tenten growled while Lee clenched his fists and glared.

Tsunade smiled sweetly at Hitomi. Tenten looked horrified. Did the Hokage actually believe Hitomi?

"I'm sorry, you're right, there HAS been a misunderstanding," the Hokage said politely.

Hitomi got a sweet, slightly smirkish smile on her face, glancing at Lee and Tenten as if to point out she had won.

"I'm so glad you understand," She said very nicely.

Tsunade nodded, still keeping the polite smile on her face.

"Oh yes, I understand completely."

Neji looked like the floor had dropped out from beneath him. Tsunade smiled wider.

"There's only one little thing you don't understand."

Hitomi's smile faltered a little as she creased her eyebrow in slight confusion.

The smile disappeared from Tsunade's face.

"If you beat up my ninja,"

Her hand shot out and caught Hitomi around the neck.

"YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH ME!!!!!"

Hitomi was choking and terrified as Tsunade was giving her a look that would frighten Orochimaru.

"DO YOU GOT THAT?!"

Hitomi could only squeak and give a terror struck nod.

"ARE YOU EVER GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN?!"

Hitomi actually looked funny wagging her head back and forth that fast.

Tsunade smiled that deceptively polite smile again.

"Good. I would hate to see you in the ICU."

She released Hitomi, and said Hyuuga woman crumpled to the floor with a gasp.

Just about everyone in the room was dumbstruck. Tenten could feel her admiration for the Hokage growing even more.

Hiashi's eyes were big as dinner plates. He'd never seen anyone scare Hitomi like that.

Hitomi stood up, dusting herself off and obviously trying to regain her dignity. She grabbed Hiashi's elbow.

"Let's go home now."

They exited quickly.

Neji turned to try and leave as well. He was, however, grabbed by his teammates, who wanted to have a group hug and congratulate him. And of course cry on him in the case of his male teammate and his sensei.

"I told you the Hokage could help, Neji!" Lee announced rather loudly.

"Isn't she the best?" Tenten said with an adoring smile.

"Neji!"

Neji turned to face the Hokage. She had a mildly stern expression on her face.

"Next time you have a problem, come and tell me yourself. Don't get dragged in by your friends."

Neji nodded and smiled a little, to Lee and Tenten's astonishment.

"Thank you."

And it ends with a thank you, like all things should end! This has been fun, I'm sorry this is the end. I might write a sequel or something though. So to all the readers and reviewers (and my sister), for bearing with me until the end, thank you.


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